TASMANIAN IRON.

Globe, Volume IV, Issue 301, 31 May 1875, Page 3

TASMANIAN IRON.

The following, about Tasmanian iron, is from the Launceston Examiner, of May Ist : “We were present at the foundry of Mr Peter, on Thursday afternoon, on the occasion of his first casting of a quantity of Tasmanian iron. The charge consisted of from 35cwt. to two tons of iron from the Hematite Company’s works at Middle Arm, and the castings comprised articles of all descrip tions—from a frying-pan, spanners, and ornamental railings, to heavy wheels for machinery. The iron was submitted to the severest tests, and Mr Peter expressed himself as perfectly satisfied with the result, the metal proving quite equal to the best imported. On removal from the sand, and being tried with a file, the iron was found to be very soft and tough, whilst the colour and grain so closely resembled the best Scotch pig as to baffle the most experienced judges. We may mention that on comparing the strength of some imported with that made by the Hematite Company, the pigs of the latter, though only a little over one-third the size of the former, in several instances resisted a larger number of blows of equal weight. The iron possesses the quality of receiving the most delicate, impressions in casting, and to all appearance it cannot be surpassed. Of course, the castings have to stand the test of actual work, but there is no reason for supposing that in this respect they will show any inferiority. Mr Peter, whose opinion as a founder is second to none in these colonies, believes that the home-made iron is, for his purposes fully equal to any that can be imported; but its adaptability to malleable purposes has yet to be proved.